


First Thing I Wanna Hold

by SparkPlug



Series: FairyTail Drabbles, and short stories [22]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Abandoned baby, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Accidental Bonding, Accidental Relationship, Adoption, Adoption??, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Artists, Caves, Child Abandonment, Children, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Dragons, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Gajeel Redfox/Lucy Heartfilia Fluff, Gajeel can cook, Multi, Natsu is an Artist, Nesting, Oneshot?, Princess & Dragons, Shapeshifting, accidental family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2020-11-28 03:56:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20960075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkPlug/pseuds/SparkPlug
Summary: The forest had been quiet for quite some time now. Most people had chosen to avoid it due to the nasty rumours that surrounded the mountains and their residents, however, she had no choice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for those who follow my account and my other story, Bound, but I've been really swamped with school, writing my first original novel, and I'm getting sick. But have something I wrote for Fairytail, hope you like it!

The forest had been quiet for quite some time now. Most people had chosen to avoid it due to the nasty rumours that surrounded the mountains it rested in between. 

However, on this particular day, a blonde woman rushed through the trees, her hair a mess as it trailed behind her, getting caught in the occasional branches, her skirt was torn and muddy from running for so long and her feet were bare apart from her socks, her shoes long gone. 

Her chest was heaving up and down as her lungs rushed to catch up to her as she raced through the trees, glancing behind herself every second despite having lost her chasers long ago.

She had been looking behind her shoulder when someone raced in front of her.

“Halt!” an imposing voice demanded in front of her. She looked up and her eyes locked on the man on top of a horse, his piercing gaze staring down at her.

“No… please… you can’t take me back there,” she begged, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She sniffed and wiped them away with her sleeve.

“I’m sorry, princess, but those are my orders,” the man admitted, moving to get off of his horse and collect her.

“NO!” she screamed in his face, turning on her heels and shooting away. She had no choice but to race towards the first mountain within eyesight, a small cave opening just insight.

Her feet fled faster and faster as she heard hoof steps racing to catch up to her after he remounted his horse. She weaved through trees so he’d have more trouble catching her and making sure it would give her more time to escape.

She had just barely made it to the cave when she felt a hand grab her arm.

“NO PLEASE!!” she screamed as he started dragging her up the horse, twisting and struggling to get away from him.

“Princess, stop struggling,” he growled, pulling her sharply.

She had just barely lost hope and he got her up to the top of the horse when there was a voice behind them.

“Let her go,” it growled low and imposing.

She turned around to see who had finally come to save her, only to have her gaze met with that of a large, muscular, stardust-yellow dragon standing in front of the mountain and nearly towering over the trees of the forest with regal purple horns running down his back and sprouting from his back, his wings spread wide to intimidate. His piercing stormy eyes glaring at the knight that was holding her. 

The knight immediately let go of her arm and she dropped to the ground. “I’m sorry sir, please don’t hurt me,” the knight apologized, backing his spooked horse up before tearing out of the forest back in the direction had come from as fast as the horse could go.

She watched as the dragon waits until the night is out of sight before turning to her, his gaze softening.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a softness in his voice that she’d never heard before, bringing small tears to her eyes from his gentle tone.

“I um, I don’t know, I think I’m in a bit of shock. I can’t feel my left arm,” she admitted, referring to the arm that the knight had grabbed roughly.

The dragon sighed, though it wasn’t a disappointed sigh, it was sounded more of one of relief.

“That’s good, something we can easily fix,” he muttered, more to himself than to her. “Follow me,” he ordered, in a slightly louder voice that was definitely directed to her.

“I don’t even know who you are,” she protested, not quite willing to go with a stranger without even knowing his name.

“Oh right, shit, sorry,” he cursed, “It’s Laxus. What about you?”

“Lucy,” Lucy stated proudly, “You have a nice name,” she complimented.

“Could say the same to you. Now come on, I’ve already taken too long and the others are probably worried,” Laxus grumbled, motioning with one clawed finger for her to follow.

“The others?” Lucy asked when she caught up to his pace, walking next to him through the forest towards a very large cave opening that was surrounded, well rather protected, by trees and stones.

“My two brood mates, Natsu and Gajeel. You’ll be able to figure out who’s who by first glance,” Laxus informed her as they neared the cave entrance.

“Oh. Are they like you?” Lucy asked, almost a little afraid by the notion of meeting three dragons in one day.

“Do you mean a dragon?” he cocked his head at her, waiting until she nodded shyly. “Do you know so little about dragons? Of course, they are “like me” but we’re not usually in this form. We take on more human appearances when alone,” Laxus explained as they finally reached the entrance to the cave.

“I didn’t… I’m sorry, I was unaware of that fact,” Lucy apologized, smoothing out her skirt. “So why haven’t you changed back yet? I’d really like to see what my saviour looks like when human.”

“For two reasons. Number one being we are still outside and your “friend” could come back at any moment and number two being that when I transform back, I am usually nude and don’t want to expose myself to you on our first meeting,” Laxus explained, stepping inside the cave and motioning for her to follow.

“Oh,” Lucy simply replied, following after Laxus as he walked down the carved tunnels before reaching a dead-end.

Lucy watched as Laxus whispered something and drew a sign in the earth in front of the wall before it parted, revealing a large multi-coloured patterned curtain.

“After you,” Laxus said with a smile, holding back the curtain.

When Lucy stepped into the room, her breathe left her lungs. All around her was colour and life, more than she had ever seen in a room, and the feeling of the room was an overwhelming sense of happiness that she hadn’t felt since her mother died.

In the center of the room was a large bowl-like shape that was dug out of the floor, filled with pillows and blankets. Hanging from the doorways that probably led to more rooms were other curtains much like the ones that Laxus had held back for her. There was a large kitchen in the left corner of the room with a large island in the center, across from that in the far right corner was a dining table surrounded by windows. The whole wall to her left was lined with books! Old ones, new ones, some with spines in another language she couldn’t even read! A couch, two chairs and a small table sat in the closest corner to her left and the other had a few plants in pots. The floor beneath her feet appeared to be made of huge trees that had been split in half and layed into the floor, matching the beige-grey stone that the room was carved out of.

“This place is breathtaking,” Lucy breathed, stepping farther into the room and letting her right hands fingers run along the spines of the books.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to tell Gajeel and Natsu. Speaking of which… YO FLAMEBRAIN AND METALBREATH GET YOUR ASSES DRESSED AND COME OUT HERE!!” Laxus hollered into the caves, earning a few swears and crude insults back, as well as a few crashes and some rustling.

“You know, you shouldn’t insult your brothers like that,” Lucy commented, turning her attention to him.

Laxus scoffed. “They aren’t my brothers. Just the guys I grew up with. Dragons live in broods, but they form those broods when they’re young with others who aren’t blood-related. Helps with finding mates and whatnot.”  
“Huh, that actually makes sense,” Lucy commented, not able to get any more words in because a very pissed off pink-haired man entered the room.

“What do you want? I was in the middle of painting,” he grumbled. 

Lucy took in the pink-haired man. His hair was in spikes, laying loosely around his head in a sort of sexy and endearing way. He had a very impressive set of toned muscles that currently had paint all over, especially on his hands, one of which was still trying to pull up a pair of black harem pants as if he had rushed from one room to the next.

“We have a guest.” Laxus’ head nodded towards Lucy, who waved awkwardly. “I wanted to change back, but I didn’t want to leave her alone and have one of you numbskulls walk in on her, naked.”

“Well, I’m here now. Why don’t I take her back to my painting room and watch ‘er while you change?” Natsu suggested like a small bit of coded message had just been relayed to him and he was replying with his own coded message.

“As long as you only show her your paintings. And inform Gajeel when he comes around,” Laxus grumbled, trudging off, carefully tucking his tail close so he didn’t wack Lucy in the face.

Lucy put the name to this face as Natsu. Laxus had referred to him previously.

“You got it lightning-butt,” Natsu called. He wasn’t that good with insults, but he tried. “So, you got a name? I suppose Laxus already told you mine.”

“Oh, it’s Lucy,” Lucy informed him, walking up to him as he motioned for her to follow him when he turned to leave the common room.

“Pretty name, Luce, rolls off the tongue. I like it, I think I might make a painting of it, it matches your face too,” Natsu commented in his own special way of complimenting someone else.

“Oh, thank you,” Lucy mumbled, walking down towards Natsu.

Natsu gave him a smile and the two of them continued to walk, stepping inside another room. Around her were vast amounts of art supplies; canvases, sketchbooks, paints, pencils, everything you could imagine. The whole left wall and part of the right wall were made of huge glass panes that showed the mountain range surrounding them and just how high up they were. The paintings that decorated the room were gorgeous, ranging from beautiful landscapes to perfect portraits.

“Wow,” Lucy breathed, taking in the room, almost pinching herself to see if it was real.

“Thanks,” Natsu mumbled, “Have a seat. I’d like to paint you if you’d let me.” Natsu motioned to a chair that sat in the middle of the room, getting the most sunlight.

“Oh, should I grab a book then?” Lucy smiled, moving to take a seat in the aforementioned chair. 

“Here,” Natsu said, handing her a book that had a very old looking leather cover.

“Thank you,” she smiled sweetly, taking the book from Natsu’s hand and opening up the cover, getting comfortable in the chair.

Lucy hummed as her mind got lost between the pages and Natsu’s pencil quietly sketched across the canvas to create guidelines for him. She had reached chapter nine when Natsu started mixing up paints. She was on chapter fourteen when he began painting her hair and the way it fell onto her shoulders. At chapter sixteen, Laxus had joined them wearing a purple dress shirt and black pants, sitting next to Lucy and reading over her shoulder. By chapter twenty-five, Natsu had perfected her blonde locks and had moved on to her blue blouse. When she finally reached chapter forty-three, Natsu was putting the finishing touches on her smile. During chapter fifty-six, Natsu was working on a colourful background as he asked her to read to him so he could capture the colours of her voice.

When Natsu had finally finished his painting and Lucy had finished her book, Natsu turned the canvas around to show her the delicate colours.

“Oh it’s gorgeous Natsu,” Lucy praised with a happy smile across her face and the book closed in her lap.

“I’m glad you like it,” Natsu stated, standing up and hanging the painting on his wall, making room for it between gorgeous mountains and sparkling stars, just next to a painting that Natsu had done of Laxus.

The room had been quiet for a small moment, no one knowing what to say to the others. Lucy was just about to speak when a tall figure leant against the door frame.

“When were you going to tell me we had a guest?” the man asked, arms folded across his chest, dressed in a black t-shirt and camo sweat-pants with his raven hair pulled away from his eyes with a brightly patterned bandana. 

“We didn’t want to disturb your music session,” Laxus teased, sticking out his tongue at the man.

“Well, I wouldn’t have minded the extra company,” he retorted, “But it’s almost dinnertime, I came in to ask what you wanted to eat.”

“I don’t know, your cookin’ is good no matter what you make,” Natsu supplied, leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah, I got nothin’. Lucy, any ideas?” Laxus inquired, looking down at the smaller blonde.

“I um, I don’t know… am I really allowed to answer?” Lucy asked timidly, looking down at her lap.

“Well yeah, of course, you’re our guest!” Natsu stated as if it was obvious.

“And after that run from the knight you must be starving,” Laxus supplied, consequently filling Gajeel in.

“But, I just feel like I’m intruding in on your home,” Lucy mumbled, trying to make herself smaller in the room. 

“Luce, you’re not intruding, we want you here or you wouldn’t be here,” Natsu assured her the best he could.

Gajeel had heard enough of these two’s stupidity. “Okay wait, wait. Let me get this straight, you rescue a girl in the forest from a knight, bring her into our home, and make her feel comfortable enough and welcome enough that she lets Natsu paint her but you aren’t smart enough to ask if she has anywhere else to be or if she wants to stay here a while?” 

“... no?” Laxus and Natsu answer, causing Gajeel to facepalm.

“Of course not,” Gajeel mumbled, walking forwards and crouching to Lucy’s level. “Lucy, do you have anywhere you’re going?”

“N-no… I don’t have anywhere to go. I can’t go home,” Lucy stated, refusing to meet Gajeel’s gaze.

“Okay. Would you like to stay with us for a while?” Gajeel asked, his tone sweet and reassuring like he was actually sincere about wanting her to stay.

“If that’s okay with you all…” Lucy whispered, her voice quivering, trying to hold back a bit of tears from the sheer kindness she’d experienced since she’d gotten here.

“Of course it is,” Gajeel, Laxus, and Natsu said in unison, a hint of happiness in each of their voices.

“Thank you,” Lucy sniffled, wiping her eyes with the corner of her dirty sleeve.

Gajeel opened his arms to her and the wind briefly left his chest as Lucy slumped against him. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing small circles on her back and earning shouts of shock from the others. “Okay seriously guys, look at her, she clearly needed a hug but you didn’t think to offer???” Gajeel lectured, “And her clothes are utterly atrocious, look at them, they’re filthy!”  
“I um…” Laxus fumbled through his words, unable to form a sentence.

“Look, here’s what we’re going to do… Lucy, would you like to come to the kitchen with me and pick out something from my recipe books?” Gajeel asked, being cautious with his tone from his mouth being so close to her ears.

“S-sure,” Lucy sniffled, hugging him a bit tighter.

“Okay good. Laxus, please go to your far to extensive hoard of clothes and get her some size…”

“Small…”

“Size small clothes that are decent for her to wear,” Gajeel ordered.

“Got it,” Laxus huffed, stalking off.

“And Natsu, go tidy up the nest for her to sleep in.” 

“Sure,” Natsu agreed, bouncing off towards the main room.

Gajeel finished with giving his orders and turned his attention back to Lucy. “Alright, we ready to move?” he asked politely.

“Mhm,” Lucy nodded, pulling back and wiping her eyes.

“Good, come on, let’s go show you these recipe books.”


	2. Chapter 2

“How about this one?” Lucy asked, pointing to a recipe for spaghetti pie that had scribbles and notes written all over and looked like one of the more used recipes in the book, complete with pasta sauce spilt on the page.

“You got it,” Gajeel smiled, taking out the large canister of spaghetti noodles that sat on the shelf above the stove and putting a large pot on the stove to boil.

Once he was done, Gajeel leaned against the counter, waiting for the pot to boil. He had given Lucy a small snack, some fruit from their garden, to eat while she waited for dinner and show her where the drinks were and where the glasses are so that she knew for future reference, even letting her take one of his favourites to drink.

“So, is there a reason you ran away?” Gajeel asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

A deer in head-lights look flashed over her face before it returned to normal. “No, not really,” she mumbled, trying to avoid the topic.

“Lucy, you can tell me, I won’t judge you,” Gajeel encouraged her, sliding the uncooked pasta into the pot.

“I told you, there’s not really a reason,” Lucy insisted, getting quite uncomfortable and really not wanting to tell anyone yet exactly why she left the palace.

Luckily, before Gajeel could question her anymore, Laxus barged into the kitchen, well, sort of, the curtain kinda dragged across his face and unceremoniously fell behind him as he stepped in the main room with a large bundle of clothes in his arms.

“I have returned!” he announced, to no one in particular, as he strode towards Lucy and Gajeel, making a small smile appear on Lucy’s face. “Here you go princess, your robes,” he stated, holding the bundle of clothes out to Lucy.

“You can change in the bathroom, it’s that door,” Gajeel pointed to a brightly coloured curtain close to them.

“Thank you,” Lucy replied, taking the clothes from Laxus and slipping behind the curtain.

Once alone, she took in the bathroom. It was a large room, with a double sink with mirrored cabinets above it, dark walls, wood floor, a massive tub that looked as if it could become a hot tub, a shower off to the side, a toilet hidden next to the sink, and a large mirror on one wall. 

Carefully, she laid out the clothes on the bench that sat near the tub, a large, light-pink hoodie, camo sweatpants, a white t-shirt, a fresh pair of socks (rainbow), and a clean pair of underwear, a matching set of pink to red ombre that seemed to magically fit her perfectly? That one was a little odd since it looked slightly bigger when she held it up but seemed to mould to her body. Maybe it was magic, who knew, it was the least strange thing all day. She also marvelled at how soft and warm they were like she was wearing a god damn cloud.

Once she was changed out of her sodden clothes, and into the new, dry clothes, with her hair up in a lazy bun, she stepped out of the bathroom, leaving her clothes in the laundry hamper inside the bathroom.

“That’s for letting me borrow these,” she immediately said, returning to her place atop the counter, now between Gajeel and Laxus, who had grabbed a beer and joined them.

“Of course, it’s not like anyone was using them,” Laxus simply replied, taking a sip from his beer.

“Oh don’t be so modest,” Gajeel groaned, “Laxus makes clothes, that’s his hobby, like Natsu paints and I make music, he’s not going to say it but he’s glad that they look good on someone and he can finally see his creations worn by someone.”

Lucy blushed softly, sneaking a glance at Laxus, who was now staring at the floor, face bright red.

“Oh, well, maybe I should model them someday, I bet there’s more you have. I might keep these though, they’re the comfiest clothes I’ve ever worn, super soft. Though, I have to ask, is there something you did to them to have them fit the wearer perfectly?” Lucy inquired, taking a sip of her drink while she waited for Laxus’ answer.

“I um… found a spell that does that, did it work or do I need to make adjustments?” Laxus asked quietly, trying to sneak a glance but failing miserably.

“No, they fit perfectly, like they were made for me,” Lucy assured him, watching Gajeel arrange the pasta and the meat sauce in the pan for the oven, letting Laxus think he’s sneaky enough to sneak a glance.

“You’ve got the figure they’re made for,” Laxus said, grabbing a piece of cooked pasta from the pot before Gajeel added it all to the pan.

“Oi, dick-for-brains, that’s our dinner!” Gajeel snapped, hitting the back of Laxus’ hand with a wooden spoon. 

“Hey, watch it! I need that for sewing asshole!” Laxus growled back, slugging Gajeel on the side of his arm

Lucy shifted on the countertop, trying to decide whether or not to break up the fight, as they had started brawling in the living room, thankfully away from anything they could wreck. 

Eventually, Lucy’s passivist nature got the best of her, and she hopped off the counter, and put herself between the two of them, carefully. 

“S-stop! You’re gonna get hurt,” she said, placing a hand on both Laxus and Gajeel’s chests. 

It took a moment for them to catch their breathe and respond. 

“Fine,” Gajeel grumbled, “Just don’t eat the fucking pasta before it’s cooked.” He stalked back to the oven, placing the pan inside to cook and set the timer.

“Jeez, leave it to me to wind up with three idiots,” Lucy grumbled to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sank down into the large plush bed that sat in the middle of the living room. Immediately a sense of calm washed over her as the soft blankets pulled her closer.   
“Mmm soft…”   
She closed her eyes, slipping into peaceful thoughts. It was only when an eery feeling washed over her did she open them again to see all three dragons staring at her.  
“What…?”

Gajeel coughed and turned back to the dishes he was drying and Natsu just kept staring at her speechless, leaving Laxus to clarify.

“You’re in the nest… we’re just… our instincts are going off… it’s a pride and dragon thing…” Laxus attempted to explain, vaguely making gestures in the air.

“Well… if it’s so much of an instinct thing, what do your instincts say about coming over and joining me?” Lucy suggested, watching as Laxus and Natsu’s faces turned bright tomato red.

“I mean- We could… if you wanted…” Natsu stuttered, avoiding eye contact with her.

Lucy pushed herself out of the nest and stalked over to the trio.  
“Come on, we have plenty of time,” she whispered, not helping the situation.

The three of them stood still, watching her with wide eyes until she yanked on their collars dragging them back towards the nest. They all tumbled down in an awkward pile, with Lucy finding herself the victim of a dragon sandwich, sitting between Laxus’ legs with Natsu laying on her stomach and Gajeel sitting next to them.

A feeling of calm and serenity washed over them as they all laid there, the hum of the oven in the background. Lucy found herself reaching out too Gajeel and running a hand through his raven hair, startling him from his thoughts. He may have relaxed a bit too much because a soft rumbling noise started emanating from his throat and Lucy’s hand froze, her eyes going wide.

“What was that…?” Lucy whispered finally.

“You know how cats pur…?” Gajeel attempted to explain without saying.

“Yeah?”

“We can… you know…”

“What metal-breath is saying is we purr. It means we’re happy. He’s just too embarrassed to say it,” Natsu chimed in, nuzzling closer to Lucy.

Lucy started to laugh, it came out as little bubbles, making Gajeel blush as she came dangerously close. 

“That’s too cute,” she cooed once she’d finally calmed down, her lips inches away from his.

“You know you’re getting awfully close to dragons you just met. Are you okay with that?” Gajeel whispered, the metallic tone of his voice licking at Lucy’s ears.

“I think that’s just fine with me,” Lucy whispered back to him, “I feel like I’ve known you three all my life.”

Gajeel’s hand reached up to her head, resting on her soft golden locks. Lucy started to lean down more and close the tiny gap when Laxus bolted up from his nap.

“Do you guys hear that?” he whispered, pulling Lucy and Natsu up with him.

“No?” Lucy whispered back, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Listen…” Laxus replied, and silence fell over the four of them.

There was unbroken silence for a few seconds until a faint wail ripped through that silence. Lucy’s eyes went wide and she watched as Gajeel bolted up next to them. 

“There’s no way… twice in one day?” he whispered.

“Out! Get me out of here!” Lucy started demanding, trying to get out from between Natsu and Laxus.

“Hold on Lucy, I got ya,” Gajeel obliged, getting up and pulling Lucy out from between them.

The two of them hopped out of the nest and Gajeel bolted towards the cave entrance, the rest of them following him closely.

It took five seconds to reach the front of the cave, another two for Gajeel to open it for Lucy. She stepped out of the cave, looking for the source of the wailing. Laxus came up next to her and the four of them started walking down towards the entrance of the cavern.

As they rounded a corner, Lucy’s eyes caught on a tiny basket near the entrance. Her legs moved on their own, running towards the basket as a tiny wail pierced through the silence of the forest.

She sank to her knees in front of the basket as the trio came up behind her. Carefully she pulled back the cover on the basket to reveal a tiny infant, no older than a couple of weeks. A soft gasp escaped her lips and she fought back tears as she lifted the tiny crying infant from the basket, cradling them to her chest. 

She rose back to her feet, looking around for another person and watching as Natsu and Gajeel checked the forest for someone. She turned to Laxus, still holding the small child.

“Does this happen often?” she whispered to him as the child started calming down.

Laxus shook his head. “No, not usually. At least not to us. I’ve heard a few stories from other broods about this happening though.”

“Does someone come for them?” Lucy asked with big eyes as Natsu and Gajeel returned to the two of them.

Gajeel sighed. “It’s a one in a million chance someone does…”

“It’s kind of like a sign though,” Natsu chimed in, all heads turning to him.   
“Like, first Laxus rescues you, a female presence we don’t have and then this tiny baby appears on our doorstep. We’d never be able to take care of a baby by ourselves. We have no idea where to start.”

“I might have a few books on childcare,” Laxus mused.

“It is kind of odd that all this happened. However, we can contemplate this later, it’s cold out, especially for a tiny baby,” Lucy stated, turning away from the front of the cave.

“She’s right, let’s go inside. Dinners almost ready,” Gajeel agrees, picking up the basket from the ground and following Lucy back inside.

Laxus and Natsu shrugged, following as well.


End file.
